Which is less annoying when you lag like hell?

[blueXx]

Trying to determine my server-client data sharing settings
So I have a couple of options (Please note ALL of them should look about the SAME if there is very little lag):

1. Allow the player to walk and attack on the client, calculate damage on the server and exchange that data.
under heavy lag: the player will see himself move and attack but nothing will be hurt, will suffer from "jumping back" effects (server re-updating his position because not all the walking data arrived in time)


2. Allow the player to walk on the client and ask for attacking, server will handle attacking entirely.
under heavy lag: Player will move around but his attacks will seem stuck, though every shot that comes out is surely "real" jump-backs still occur.

3. Client just sends requests, Server deals with everything.
under heavy lag: player will not be able to move or shoot much, however he will know exactly what's really happening.

Feel free to suggest your own too.

[Jonesy]

3 for sure.

[Haydenap]

Well they all suck but #3 sucks the least imo.

[cozziekuns]

I'm going to agree with everyone and say... 3.

[tSwitch]

I'm going to disagree about 3, because the player won't know what's happening at all, if they're lagging then they're getting late updates anyway (stuff like enemy position, projectiles, etc... will be updated late due to the lag) so the advantage is really negated by the lag.

Also just sending requests to the server all the time makes things harder on the server, and harder on the internet connection, making the game more varied based on ping, and quite possibly could cause server issues.

so that leaves 1 and 2, 2 has no real advantages over 1 as the jump-backs will still occur, and might confuse players if they're seeing their own and other peoples' attacks sticking in the air.

1 is the least confusing for non-savvy people (at least in my opinion), and it helps programming-wise to keep things separate (server vs client).

[blueXx]

Thanks for your detailed opinion Namkcor, I'll certainly keep some of those things in mind.

Regarding 2's advantage, while confusing to some players, others might be able to use the attack animations' locations to determine their path to safety, so that's why I thought it should be considered.
As for 3, what I saw as an advantage there is that it should make your vital actions (walking and attacking) both delayed so you'll realize you are lagging instantly and hence do your best to avoid danger, but you are right, the server will have to work overtime for that and that just isn't a fair trade.